Okay, it's time to hear from you! The working title of the book is Parting Ways and here's what the design team has drafted. Which book cover do you like the best: the first gray - purple design or the second one with more red in it? Which one gets your attention and makes you want to read it? Click on each image to enlarge and to read the back cover, then please vote in the poll below the designs. Feel free to express why you chose the design you did in the comments section below. Always good to get the backstory right? Thanks!

I agree with Mindy (and you already know that,Pat). It looks as if others are swaying the other direction and I wish some would indicate why. I did notice you had not changed the spine and back to reflect the red color additions??? Perhaps that is throwing me. I'm interested to see where the poll takes it. Great idea. (and I'm headed to look at Mindy's great looking blogger site).

I went with the red one because I feel it brings out the lightning more. With the purple, the way I see it, I see the lightning in the book of the church. With the red cover, the lightning is towards the front of the church. It appeals to me more. That's just me though.

Pat, I think after reading the back covers, I prefer the more purple. Why? Red, in my humble opinion, gives more of a horror-type story sense. What a fabulous job though! You certainly have a talented design team! Congratulations. Can't wait to read it!

Pat, the design team did a great job. I like the red but voted for the purple because the color isn't carried over to the back.

But, I am wondering what the design is trying to convey. To me it suggests that the novel will concern judgment of the church. I cannot relate to the experiences some have had in their church but any general condemnation of traditional church really turns me away.

I would rather the picture be more suggestive of the title which is Parting Ways. A design suggesting a split would have been more appropriate, IMO. Perhaps purple on one side of the lightening and red on the other would have taken the focus off of the judgmental aspect. But lightening apparently striking a church exudes cynicism. And, I would expect the author to unload some of it in an otherwise interesting read. It may appeal to me were I an injured party but will it appeal to the well-tempered, rational man? And do you care? Perhaps you are not trying to reach those inside but rather to cajole those outside.

So if I had the choice I would have voted down both of them even though the design is quite nice in and of itself.

A better design would have been the silhouette of a man stepping outside of himself indicating leaving the successful man to cling to truth. But perhaps that would have made the back cover redundant.

I don't know. Perhaps you wanted praise rather than criticism? Ok. Congrats on the book. That's a huge undertaking. The design is very good (forgetting the objections listed above). So, if those are my only choices, I choice purple.